Hello All,

I replaced the MSD 8.5 MM black wires in my car with 8.5 MM red wires as the place I bought them from had only the red in stock. I tried to replace the coil wire but I messed up the new one trying to custom make it so I re-used the old coil wire.

What's up with the stupid MSD crimping tool and bending the terminal back. My coil is the Blaster High Vibration coil. The wires are the standard small block 8.5 MM Chevy wires with the 90 degree angle boots at the spark plug. I have the MSD 85551 Billett Distributor w/ an MSD cap & rotor.

Question: On the coil wire it says I need a vice grip to custom make the thing. I don't have a vice grip in my garage. Does MSD offer the coil wire separately?

Thanks for the help so far guys! I appreciate it. The car has come a long long long way. And now I'm proud to say I own it.

I think i used the concret floor, hammer and a pair of pliers, and i smacked the end of the pliers to crimp it.

You are supposed to put the wire and terminal in that black two piece device they include with the wire. I did the same thing and had to replace my coil wire. I used a set of spark plug wire crimpers. You can do like Skip said and place the black device on the ground, but you have to make sure you don't OVER crimp it. They say use a vise because you can monitor and regulate the amount of crimp you put onto the terminal. I would highly suggest purchasing a spark plug wire crimper. Looks like a pair of large pliers. This tool works perfectly every time.
http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=ACC%2D170036&N=700+115&autoview=sku

I use a "put it in a vise and whack it" crimper from Taylor that works very well. Also have a pretty good stock of extra terminals if you want to make a trip to the boonies!

this is a great tool....
http://performanceparts.com/part.php?partID=138320